Council proposes parking changes at Romsey Rapids and Church Road

27 August 2026

Test Valley Borough Council is proposing changes to parking at Romsey Rapids and at the former magistrates car park off Church Road.

The plans are set out in a public notice published on 20 August for a new Off Street Parking Places Order, which would replace the 2022 rules. Nothing in it has taken effect. Most of the document deals with Andover. Two items affect Romsey.

At the Rapids, Monday to Saturday parking is free for the first four hours. A stay of more than four hours costs £2.10.

The council proposes that this free period would no longer be offered on RingGo, the phone payment app. The notice says the four-hour free option “has been removed from RingGo but remains available via Pay & Display ticket.”

That sentence is a proposal, not a change already made. It also does not explain how a free stay is obtained through a pay and display ticket.

The second Romsey change is at Church Road, the small car park beside the former magistrates court and the council offices near the Abbey.

Hampshire County Council visitor and permit bays there would be removed. County staff no longer occupy the first floor. Planning papers last year already treated those reserved spaces as surplus.

The draft would also let the council mark any existing bay, in any of its car parks, as an electric vehicle charging space. Other Romsey charges would stay the same, including free parking after 4pm and all day on Sundays.

Objections must be made in writing, give the grounds, and reach The Director of Legal and Democratic Services at Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, Andover, SP10 3AJ by 4pm on Friday 11 September.

The notice is on the Public Notice Portal, which requires an account before comments can be posted. Papers can be inspected at the former magistrates court in Church Street.

Main image: paulbashamassociates.com